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Glacier Mass-Balance Fluctuations in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, USA

By Edward G. Josberger, William R. Bidlake, Rod S. March, and Ben W. Kennedy

Poster at International Glaciological Society International Symposium on Cryospheric Indicators of Global Climate Change, August 21-25, 2006 in Cambridge, UK

Introduction

The USGS Benchmark Glacier Program began as a result of the International Geophysical Year (Meier and others, 1971), and now that the International Polar Year is approaching, it is fitting to examine the unique record of seasonal mass balances of the three USGS Benchmark Glaciers: South Cascade Glacier in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington, Wolverine Glacier near the southern coast of Alaska, and Gulkana Glacier in the interior of Alaska. These glaciers are representative of a large number of glaciers within each region, with each region representing a different climate. The records clearly show the dramatic glacier shrinkage that has occurred in each region. The sequence of photographs below illustrates the changes of South Cascade Glacier.

Data from the USGS Benchmark Glaciers have been extensively used to investigate the relation between glacier mass balance and climate fluctuations as characterized by various indices (Walters and Meier, 1989, Hodge and others, 1998, and Bitz and Battisti, 1999). The mass balance records are now 10 to 15 years longer since many of these studies took place. This poster presents the complete mass balance record, winter, summer, and net, for the Benchmark Glaciers and although many correlations remain unchanged, there are new trends and some changes in important correlations to consider.

Contents

Introduction
Mass Balance and Turnover
Conclusions
References Cited

Josberger, E.G., Bidlake, W.R., March, R.S., and Kennedy, B.W., 2006, Glacier Mass-Balance Fluctuations in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, USA, International Symposium on Cryospheric Indicators of Global Climate Change, August 21-25, 2006, Cambridge, UK, poster.

  [Full Poster, Acrobat PDF (4.4 MB)]

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